A Rival for the Leones

The conference room went silent as the man stood up at the top table and spoke into the microphone

Senor Luis Munoz Rivera

“For those who don’t know me I am Señor Luis Munoz Rivera, head of the Puerto Rico Tourist Company. For the last few years we have seen the Caribbean tourist market become very competitive. The big winner in the region at the moment seems to be Cuba, they are pulling in almost 65% of tourists in this region. We in Puerto Rico are sadly lacking with just 21% of the pot. Our market researchers tell us that a large chunk of those heading for Cuba are off to Havana to take in the Havana Leones playing in a PEBA game. Our board has racked their brains on how we can compete with them before finally hitting on this solution.

For the last six months we have been negotiating with the Board of the PEBA over the possible purchase of a franchise. There was not much enthusiasm on their behalf given our location did not fit their plans for future development and our stated desire to be direct rivals to the Havana franchise. Recently though there has been much internal wrangling and disquiet within their organisation and their development plans have shifted. Last month we opened talks on the purchase of one of several franchises that were now ‘available’. We had our sights on one from the beginning as not only was it in severe financial trouble which meant we were able to offer a considerably reduced price for it but they had a pedigree of post season play in recent times and several Puerto Ricans already on the roster.

So today I am happy to announce that we have completed the purchase of the Rio Grande Valley Ocelots after the PEBA agreed to our biggest demand which was the last stumbling block. Given that we have no-one competent to act as GM and given the dearth of available GM’s looking for a role we insisted that they supplied a GM. This demand held up the deal for a while but we eventually got our own way. As part of the package the PEBA Board agreed that as long as he could carry on and indeed prioritise his duties of League Commish they would allow Mr Laverick to act as the GM of our franchise at least while we gain a solid base both here and in the region.

So without further delay” reaching up to pull the cord to reveal the team logo “I give you the SAN JUAN COQUI”

After the rapturous applause had died down he continued “ The Coqui is as most here will know is the common name for several species of small frogs that are native to Puerto Rico. They have a distinctive sound which has appeared on many popular Puerto Rican songs. One appears on the logo in the colours of our national flag. They will play here in San Juan out of the ballpark that houses the San Juan Sharks of the SJ Winter League. The difference in the seasons will mean we will see all year round baseball here in the stadium that will be renamed The PRTC Stadium and will be extended from 42,000 to 45,000 capacity.

And to show off the new Coqui uniforms let me introduce Puerto Rican star closer Jorge Nunez who will be closing out the games here in 2024 after gaining 56 saves for Ocelots over the last two seasons.

Jorge Nunez

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